Ashwani Kumar Dents KKR On Debut Achieves Unique Record

Ashwani Kumar achieved a unique record while bowling for the 5-time champions Mumbai Indians on his IPL debut against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede stadium. Ashwani was one of the three changes Hardik Pandya called at the toss.

The left-armer from Punjab got the opposition captain Ajinkya Rahane out on the very first ball of his IPL career at deep cover where Tilak Varma juggled a bit but ended up taking the catch on the second attempt, hence becoming only the third MI bowler to claim a wicket on the first ball of his IPL debut. Before him, it was Ali Murtaza & Alzarri Joseph who claimed wickets on their respective IPL debuts for the Mumbai Indians.

Who is Ashwani Kumar?

Ashwani is a left-arm seamer from Punjab. Ashwani hasn't had much experience of first-class cricket; he played at the Sher-e-Punjab competition before being scouted by the Mumbai Indians management. Ashwani has bowled three overs, picking up 4 big wickets, conceding just 24 runs. His wickets include an elite list of Ajinkya Rahane, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh & Manish Pandey.

Bowlers With First Ball Wickets On IPL Debut

Earlier Hardik Pandya had chosen to field first as he stated the wicket has grass on it the seam bowlers will get enough swing & seam movement along with the bounce. Ashwani's impressive bowling spell helped MI chase down a modest target of 116 with 8 overs to spare & climb to the 6th spot in the points table. While the Ajinkya Rahane led Kolkata Knight Riders faced a big defeat & are in the last spot in the table.

The Mumbai Indians now travel to Lucknow to take on Rishabh Pant led Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. The defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will head home to play the Sunrisers Hyderabad in what will be a repeat match of last year's final.